DENVER -- Thursday's 21-20 loss to the Denver Broncos might be tougher for the Carolina Panthers to bounce back from than the one in Super Bowl 50.
This one might be tougher for quarterback Cam Newton to bounce back from.
At least in the Super Bowl, the Panthers could point to sacks, mistakes and turnovers as reasons for the loss. They faced a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Peyton Manning, even though he didn't have a great game.
But on Thursday, Denver made a Carolina defense that was supposed to be a strength look shaky at best against a quarterback with one NFL snap under his belt, Trevor Siemian.
And when Carolina had a chance to win on a 50-yard field goal attempt by Graham Gano with 9 seconds left, the kick sailed wide left.
What was supposed to be a jump-start to the 2016 season could instead turn out to be a jump-start to a Super Bowl hangover that coach Ron Rivera is trying to avoid.
But from Rivera to his players, all insisted this is not the time to panic or overreact.
"This is one game,'' tight end Greg Olsen said. "We can't make it like it's the whole season. Of course, we would have loved to have started 14-0 like we did last year, but that's not the reality of this game, this league. We're 0-1. We've got 15 games left to play.''
Rivera's message to his players was just that.
"We had a chance to win the game, so there's nothing to get your head down about,'' he said. "We'll keep our head up and go back to work. That's the truth. It's a long season. This is the first game.''
For almost three quarters it looked like this one was going to be different. Newton got a head start on a second straight NFL MVP award, a new touchdown dance -- something called the "Milly Rock" -- and the approval of the American Dental Association for flossing on the bench.
Wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin got an early start on the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award with four first-half catches for 62 yards and a touchdown.
Ultimately, the Panthers looked eerily similar to the team that lost to Denver in the title game. That they blew a 17-7 lead after seemingly having the game under control could thrust doubts into the minds of players moving forward. It could take away some of the swagger this team had during a 14-0 start to the 2015 season.
In the end, the Broncos were blowing up Carolina's offensive line with blitzes, collecting three second-half sacks after failing to get to Newton in the first half. It was reminiscent of the Super Bowl, when Denver had seven sacks.
One of those sacks on Monday was by outside linebacker Von Miller, whose two strip-sacks of Newton in the Super Bowl turned into 15 Denver points.
The Broncos were opportunistic, taking advantage of a Carolina turnover -- an interception -- for the go-ahead score.
Memories of this one could linger in the minds of the Panthers for a while.
Super Bowl hangover? Stay tuned.
